Technical Analysis for S&P 500 Index Futures

S&P 500 Historical

The Index S&P 500 (Standard & Poor's 500) - one of the most important indicators of the US stock market, competes with Index Dow Jones. The index has been published since March 4, 1957. Top quote S&P 500 was recorded in May 2013 at the level of 1600 points. The S&P 500 index includes 500 companies from the service sector and manufacturing, which have most market capitalization, which allows more reliably present the situation in a particular industry, and the market in general. The total capitalization of the companies included in the listing SP500 over 5.74 trillion dollars. For inclusion in the index capitalization of the company should be more than $ 4 billion. Selection of listed companies by a special committee. Calculation of the S & P 500 based on a weighted average based on the market capitalization of the companies listed.

The group index S&P - a big family

The family of the S&P includes dozens of indicators that reflect the situation in the various sectors of the world economy. Many of the S & P index available for trading and investments via derivatives. The most popular of these are contracts for stock index S&P 500, S&P/ASX 200, S&P CNX Nifty, the raw index S&PGSCI, Volatility Index VIX, an index of the housing market the United States S&P/ Case-Shiller. Using these stocks Index, you can profit from short-term market fluctuations, or to realize the medium and long term investment strategies.

How to Invest in S&P 500 Index

Shares of the companies included in the Index S&P 500 are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Among the companies represented by 400 industrial, 20 transportation, 40 financial and 40 municipal. The Index S&P 500 is a convenient tool for traders and investors.

The exchange traded indices included in the S&P 500:

Index Stock Exchange Market - S&P 500, S&P CNX Nifty.

Commodity Indices - S&P GSCI.

Indices Real Estate Market - S&P/Case-Shiller.

Market Volatility Index S&P 500 VIX.

Invest in a group Index S&P 500 you can with the help of financial instruments traded: Exchange Traded Fund ETF, Contract For Difference CFD, Index Option and Futures on Index. Futures - the most convenient tool of the trade group index S&P 500. Futures contracts - one of the most useful tools of trading and investing in indexes. Using them, the trader buys or sells all the assets used to calculate the selected indicator, per transaction.

Futures on Stock Indices S&P500

The most popular stock index, which calculates the company Standard & Poor's, is the S&P 500 - an indicator of stock price of 500 most capitalized companies in the US. Futures on the S&P 500 E-mini the most traded in the world. With futures contracts, you can also invest in the S & P 400 and S & P 600 - US stocks with medium and low capitalization, respectively. If you are interested in stocks outside of the US, futures trading on the Australian stock index S&P/ASX 200 and Contracts E-mini CNX Nifty index of the Indian stock market Nifty 50.

Futures on the S&P/ASX 200 are among the ten most liquid futures market contracts on the stock exchanges of the Asia-Pacific region. This instrument is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. The contract value is calculated in Australian dollars to the index point is 25 Australian dollars for one point. The minimum price change is 25 Australian dollars per contract. The trading period from March to November - from 17:10 to 07:00 and from 9:50 to 16:30 Sydney time Sunday through Friday. Trade from November to March - from 17:10 to 08:00 and from 9:50 to 16:30.

Futures on Commodity Indices S&P500

Index S&P GSCI - the most popular in the world commodity markets status indicator. It was created by the bank Goldman Sachs, however, since 2007. calculation of the index is the company Standard & Poor's. The index is calculated on the basis of the cost of the 24 commodity assets, including energy raw materials, base and precious metals, agricultural products. The energy sector dominates the index basket, so the dynamics of S&P GSCI is more dependent on changes in the cost of energy raw materials.

The company S&P calculated S&P WCI, whose value depends on the dynamics of commodity futures trading on stock exchanges outside the United States. This index is available for trading and investment. This indicator shows the dynamics of global and regional commodity markets.

Futures on the S&P GSCI traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) - in the electronic trading system Globex, "in the pit" (or bids voice). The contract value is US $250 per index point S&P GSCI. Minimal movement is 0.05 index points ($12.50 per contract). Trades "in the pit" are held from 7:55 to 13:40 CT, Monday through Friday. Trading in the electronic system CME Globex are from 17:00 to 16:00 CT Sunday through Thursday.

Futures on Index of Real Estate

Indices S&P/Case-Shiller - are an important indicator of the state of the US housing market. There are several indices of this group, including the national housing price index, index value of houses in the 20 and 10 largest US cities and 20 individual indexes for each city. Composite Index S&P/Case-Shiller, calculated in accordance with the value of homes in 20 major US cities, is considered the most important indicator. Futures on the S&P/Case-Shiller is traded in the electronic trading system CME Globex. The cost is $250 per 1 index point. The minimum price change was 0.2 points, or $50 per contract. You can trade this index from Monday to Thursday from 17:00 to 14:00 CT.